Last minute stuff....

As I mentioned before Dave had an MRI Monday, this showed that the main big tumor on his kidney is a angiolipoma which is fine, but there are other tumors that they can not make out.  Because of this they are not sure if they will be able to take out and put in a kidney at the same time (the are definitely taking them out because they are big and such).  This would mean he has surgery sometime soon to remove the kidneys, then he heals up a bit for 3 months and we proceed with the transplant at this time.  We are waiting to hear back from the surgeon who is going to remove the kidneys to see if it can all still happen on the 7th.  I believe we all hope it can happen at the same time so Dave does not have to go through 2 separate surgeries and so he can be off of dialysis ASAP!  But I also don't want any increased risk of rejection, and I don't know if removing the kidneys at the same time would increase that risk or not?  Something to think about... But what this means is I still don't know whats going on and we are still playing the waiting game with only 10 days left till possible surgery.  Blah!

Getting Closer

Today Dave has an MRI and I am going to LabCorp to do some of the last blood work!  Things are getting closer and it will be here before we know.  Since my last post they planned my prep-center visit for Tuesday, March 4th  at 3pm so at least something is planned.  This just includes meeting with the anesthesiologist mostly.  Dave has this scheduled for the same day at 2:30, he also has a meeting with his surgeon on Tuesday Feb. 25th, I still don't know when I will have that done.  I am just going to have to trust the testing center to fit it all in before the 7th!

Overall, I am pretty calm thinking about the whole thing.  If Dave would finish looking into Medicare (they cover donor post op complications I believe) I would feel calmer but he said he was going to be doing that today.  I can only hope that everything continues to go smoothly and that before we know it it will be over and life will be getting back to normal.  

Lets Play the Waiting Game Again

So for anyone that doesn't know, I am a planner I like having my schedule planned out, knowing what time I need to be place, whats going to happen when I get there, etc.  This kidney donation is messing up my planning.  Dave is having an MRI on Monday to look more in depth at the tumor on his kidney, my coordinator will not set up a pre-op date until the results from that are in.  With the surgery on the 7th and me being in Reno from the 26th till the 3rd I would like to know if getting a preop apt right when I get back is doable.  This way I can plan my days off and hours I am using accordingly.  But without knowing these things it is really hard for me to get a sense of time management.  Plus I want to clean everything, buy food, and do all of the laundry before surgery that way I don't have to worry about things immediately afterwards, but not knowing what days before surgery I will be free I don't know how to plan!

Oh well, I know that planning isn't that important, I just like to be informed and ready well in advance and things are not happening as far in advance as I would like. 

National Donor Day

It has come to my attention that today is national Donor day!  I just wanted to share that with everyone so they think about becoming a donor (not just a living donor but an organ donor after they die by selecting to be one when updating ones licence).  Also Happy Valentines Day!  Sadly, Dave will be spending it at Dialysis so no special plans with him, but we will probably go out some other night just because.

Also no kidney updates.

Dave Update

So update, still no clear idea on if it will be the 6th or 7th of March.  Dave had his CT-Scan yesterday and they found a cyst on his right kidney and can not tell if it is benign or not.  Because of this he is going to have a MRI.  This will be February 23rd (right before we leave for Reno so I hope everything is okay and there is nothing else we need to do).  Hopefully after this we will have a clear idea of the exact date!

I'm getting excited and feel ready for this, I'll be sad if it gets delayed.

mini, mini update.

Tuesday I had to go to my personal Dr. for one last thing (that should turn out fine which is why no one is worried about it halting the process) and my blood pressure was normal!  This is really exciting for me since I knew all along my blood pressure was normal but it kept being high for things! First step to beating my bad white coat syndrome!

Also looks like March 6th or March 7th depending of if they decide to remove Dave's kidneys or not (he has a CT scan on the 10th for them to evaluate the need to remove them or not).  Soon but soon is exciting.

Also decided to just relax and not think about the money I have all my tax stuff so hopefully if I get them done soon I'll get some money back to help with it all (I know I've payed plenty of Student Loan Interest to be eligible).


Unrelated I am running (in my underwear) for the Cupids Undie run on Febuary 15th to help end neurofibromatosis and raise money for the Children's Tumor Foundation.  If you would like to support me; I am going to link my page below, all money donated goes straight to the Children's Tumor Foundation!
To donate: http://hopecur.com/amberwoo
Thanks

The Update You have all been waiting for!

Assuming the report on my EKG comes back normal, and one additional blood test (that will be done with my pre-op blood work) due to the fact my Mom has Lupus is okay, there should be a surgery in March!

I'm super excited, but also super anxious at the same time.  Looking over my work time saved up I'll only have 3 full paid days off (I accrue time at a slow rate), this combined with the fact I have never had surgery before makes me pretty nervous.  I know it will all work out, but I am still worried.  I am thinking of starting up one of those sites like kick started that help people for other situations to possibly try and raise money for when I am out so I can be confident in paying everything on time those few weeks.  But I also hate asking for money so I am not committed to that idea yet.

Well I just have to relax some more (going to see Jen the end of this month will probably help with that) and figure everything out.  But overall EXCITEMENT!